Congress May Be Considering Cryptocurrency Protections

A report from the Daily Caller suggests that several Republican members of the House of Representatives and Senate may be in the process of drafting a bill that would offer protection from government interference to cryptocurrencies that meet certain specific criteria. The Caller’s report cites unnamed sources from Capitol Hill, who reportedly told the news outlet that one Senator and two Representatives are looking at issues like anti-money-laundering compliance as they work through the process of creating the legislation.

The goal is apparently to provide various digital currencies with protection, if those assets can demonstrate that they have adequate safeguards to prevent them from being used for terror financing, money-laundering, drug trafficking, and similar criminal activities. According to the Daily Caller, members are focusing on digital currencies like AML Bitcoin, which claims to be the “first-generation, identity-based, compliant digital currency.”

The effort is apparently in its early stages, as the lawmaker’s offices only began to seriously discuss the issue shortly before Congress started its annual August recess. The Caller’s sources said that the three offices are currently drafting and vetting the bill while the nation’s elected representatives are on vacation, to ensure that it can be submitted for consideration in the Fall. As one of those sources told the Caller,

“The law needs to be changed to protect digital currencies from federal government harassment to make sure that a complaint currency can be backed by value, the currency cannot be treated like a security or investment, and that transfers are protected against taxation. The bottom line is that Congress needs to remove all the obstacles to a vibrant digital currency that has voluntarily taken the initiative to keep the bad guys from using it.”

Given that the story relies entirely upon unnamed sources, it is probably reasonable to view it with a healthy dose of skepticism. If true, however, the introduction of such legislation could help to spark a broader and more serious conversation about the future of money in the United States.

Author: Ken Chase

Freelance writer whose interests include topics ranging from technology and finance to politics, fitness, and all things canine. Aspiring polymath, semi-professional skeptic, and passionate advocate for the judicious use of the Oxford comma.

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